You grab the chair and sit down with the group and Sifu Huan orders a pot of green tea to warm up to. He congratulates the four of you on your performance, but you only give a little nod of your head. You still can't seem to shake that troublesome feeling.
"What's wrong?" Dani asks you.
"Hm?" Your head turns toward her as you snap out of your little daze. "Sorry. It's nothing," you mumble, not sounding very convincing.
However, not one second after you give your answer, you hear a loud crash, followed by panicked screams. You notice a faint, orange glow outside, and your uneasy feeling intensifies. Something is definitely wrong.
"What's going on?" Myranda's question is barely audible.
"We're leaving," Sifu Huan states, standing abruptly.
None of you question his decision. You and the other three girls stand, and with Sifu, the four of you make your way toward the exit.
When you emerge, the rain is still falling, and the dark clouds overhead block out any light from the sky. Then where is that orange glow coming from?
You take in the scene before your eyes, stunned. The festival grounds have turned into a battleground. Mobile suits, which you haven't seen since they were banned three years ago, are destroying the town.
Your mind has difficulty trying to comprehend why, and how, the town was under attack. You duly note that the majority of mobile suits are centered in one are.
"Isn't there a Preventers base over there?" Keri wondered out loud.
That's when it hits you. "They're trying to start another war," you murmur in disbelief.
"Enough standing around, let's move!" Myranda urges.
"Right," Dani agrees.
Before any of you take more than a few steps, a blast from behind destroys the little tea house you just emerged from. Debris flies everywhere, and ultimately, knocks the five of you forward. The weight on your back drives the air from your lungs, leaving you struggling for air and wincing in pain. Fortunately, having been trained enough, you were able to break your fall with one of your forearms, while the other covered the back of your head.
Now, your only goal was to get yourself out from beneath the rubble. Trying hard not to strain yourself, you push up with the arm beneath you, making enough room to get out from under the pieces of the building that covered you. It takes some time and a lot of effort, but you manage to escape.
Then, you turn back, knowing your friends were also trapped, and start looking around the edges for them, calling their names. You spot Dani, and cringe. She had a large piece of a metal pipe stuck through her shoulder, pinning her to debris beneath her, and perhaps even the ground. Myranda and Keri are struggling to get free, apparently unharmed, save for a few scrapes along their arms.
Then, your eyes fall on Sifu Huan. You feel your chest grow tight as you assess the damage he's taken. A wooden shard pierces his arm and debris covered most of his body. Another piece of the pipe pinning Dani down was driven through your Sifu's abdomen, close to his ribs.
"Sifu!" you shout, running toward him. Upon reaching him, you notice blood dripping from his mouth.
"_____," he barely manages, "get out of here."
"But, Sifu..."
"Go," he demands. His voice was fading quickly.
"I can't leave you here, Pa," you answered, feeling your eyes grow wet. You never addressed him as anything but Sifu in your entire life and now.
"Go," he repeats, closing his eyes. As he exhales what you know realize is his final breath, he seems at peace.
You were oblivious to everything else around you for the past few moments, and were startled when two pairs of hands grab your arms and pull you away.
"Come on, _____." You barely recognize the voice as Myranda's.
"Run!" Keri screams, pulling you along with Myranda away from the remains as fast as she can.
The three of you manage to get away just in time to avoid a second blast that would have finished you, and round a corner to avoid the second wave of debris.
You noticed, though, that Myranda was limping, and when you look down at her legs, you see a large wound in her left leg. You glance over at Keri, and notice a cut running diagonally along her back, and another on the right side of her hip bone.
They look at you, noting that your right shoulder is bleeding, and the gash on your left side.
"Let's keep moving," Myranda states, trying to ignore the burning pain in her leg.
Agreeing, you, Keri and Myranda begin making your way toward the outskirts of town.
After a minute, Myranda speaks up, "I'm slowing you two down. Go on without me."
"No way," Keri replies.
"Get out of here," Myranda urges.
"We're like family, Myr. We've gotta stick together," you respond firmly.
"Maybe Myranda's right, _____," Keri states. "You go. I'll take care of her."
You...